Ukraine troops take rebel stronghold

AFTER days of constant street battles, Ukrainian troops have taken control of a large part of the rebel stronghold in Luhansk, while battles around the rebel's largest city of Donetsk left at least 43 people dead.

ANDRIY Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine's National Security Council, told reporters on Wednesday that government forces are now controlling "significant parts" of Luhansk, an eastern city just 20km from the Russian border.